Emphasis on unfamiliar

I remember laying in a cloudy darkness surrounded, even crowded in-between lumpy and scratchy piles of things, all with perfectly normal but unfamiliar scents and textures. Emphasis on unfamiliar. There are loud noises coming from somewhere else, deep voices and shrill, laughter and arguments. I am not alone, but I don't know where in the darkness the others around me are. I know I am supposed to be asleep, but I don't feel safe. I'm quiet, so that I don't attract attention from the loud voices. I don't feel safe.

Relevant context: I woke up from a night of restless dreaming with only this image in my mind. After waking I realized this was a flashback to when I was 3 or 4 years old. My parents wanted to go play bridge but couldn't find a babysitter, so they took us along, me and 1-2 younger siblings. It was strongly emphasized that we were not to disturb them under any circumstances. The others fell asleep, but I couldn't.

The day I had this dream was towards the end of a week in crisis, when federal data and health information had disappeared and researchers and clinicians were panicking, trying to find what they needed for their work and patients.

-PF Anderson
Dream occurred 2/7/2025